So, you’re wondering what integrated marketing is and what it has to do with branding and design? Well, it has everything to do with it really. In short, Integrated marketing is a marketing strategy that looks at the big picture and takes all marketing channels into account to create a consistent message and help your business stand out in crowded markets.

Integrated marketing is a marketing strategy that stresses the importance of a consistent, seamless, multi-dimensional brand experience for the consumer. This means that each branding effort – across television, radio, print, Internet, and in person – is presented in a similar style that reinforces the brand’s ultimate message.

marketing-schools.org

By reiterating your brand message across multiple platforms in a strategic way you are setting yourself up to become a brand that is remembered. This doesn’t mean that you should just be copy and pasting your message on every social media platform or creating print pieces with information that can be found on your website. In today’s world, there are just too many marketing channels to just use them all without a plan! Remember – purpose – every marketing and design decision should back your brand, who you are and what you want to communicate to your target audience.

At its core, integrated marketing is working your brand message into the minds of your potential customers in a way that will be appreciated and lead to a purchase. Coordinating your message across all channels should result in an increase in brand awareness, familiarity, favorability and purchase intent and gives your customers a clear path to purchase. Less integrated approaches to marketing do not have the same effect and fail to lead your customers to make purchases in the same way.

What does integrated marketing have to do with branding and design?

For integrated marketing to work properly you will need to have a strong base to work from. Integrated marketing is not actually a single approach but instead the strategic plan of how your marketing and business efforts work together as one well-oiled machine. Each step is a cog that must work to propel the next cog to reach your ultimate business goals. Integrated marketing requires the interaction of several strategies in a step-by-step approach. This system sets your foundation for success, builds your marketing toolbox and then uses that groundwork for your ongoing tactical marketing plan. Starting with your foundation of strategic positioning and branding and consistently referring back to your brands messaging and visual identity will not only make create a more efficient and intuitive flow for your marketing efforts, it will also get your message in front of the right audience.

The 7 steps of an integrated marketing system.

It’s important to consistently circle back to optimize this marketing flow. Regularly checking in on each channel and using metrics to determine what is working well and what may need adjustment. Is there anything that no longer works for your brand and could you be using your time and money more effectively to support your brand message?

Will integrated marketing work for my small business?

We often see small businesses either assuming the integrated marketing approach is not for them or just not knowing how to implement it properly. Here are a few reasons it might be worth implementing for your small business:

It’s one plan that works towards multiple goals.
By implementing an integrated marketing plan you are not only working towards your marketing goals but your business goals as well. This is important for large businesses to unify their message across all departments and for small businesses that don’t have multiple departments and employees, it often makes more sense to have a single strategic plan to work from.

It will help you save money.
Small businesses often have limited marketing budgets, and that’s okay. Implementing a strategic integrated marketing plan will allow you to plan to use channels within your budget in a way that gets the most for your money. As long as it follows the system and steps previously mentioned you can plan to spend money where it matters most and adjust to save money in other ways. The most important part is to have a strong foundation to start from and to unify your brand message across all channels.

It will help you make more money.
Integrated marketing practices have been proven to have a larger return on investment than other non-integrated marketing strategies. Presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. By using the right channels for your business and targeting specific audiences you will end up with more qualified leads who are a good match for your company and result in a purchases.

It will create strong and consistent brand awareness.
It’s important to make several good impressions on your audience to build brand awareness. It takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember a brand and something as simple as a consistent color palette across all channels can drive your up brand recognition by as much as 80%! With consistent messaging and visuals consumers will more easily understand and remember who you are and how you can help them.

Final thoughts

In summary, integrated marketing is a marketing strategy that looks at the big picture and takes all marketing channels and business goals into account. This practice creates a consistent message and leads to greater lead generation, sales, ROI and creates a more unified portrait of your overall brand. Data backs integrated marketing as a superior way to operate no matter the size of your business. With the integrated marketing system illustrated above you are set up for success early on by creating a strong brand and position in the market.

Sources
https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/branding-statistics/#gref
https://www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/integrated-marketing-communications/what-is-integrated-marketing/
https://multimediamarketing.com/mkc/marketingcommunications/
https://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/integrated-marketing/#section-0